Mary i



(No Model.)

' P.. L. THOMPSON, Deod.

M. I; Tnomrson, Administratrix.

BUCKLE SHIELD. N0 502;057.' v v Patented July26, 1893.

IIIIIIIIHHHIIHII lllllllllllfllllll suitable material.

V UNETED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FREDERICK L. THOMPSON, OF NELIGH, NEBRASKA; MARY I. THOMPSON ADMINIS'PRATRIX OF FREDERIOKL. THOMPSON, DECEASED.

BUCKLE-SHIELD.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 502,057, dated July 25, 1893.

Application filed April 24, 1891.

To all whom it may concern;

Be it known that I, FREDERICK L. THOMP- SON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Neligh, in the county of Antelope and State of Nebraska, have invented a new and useful Buckle-Shield, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in buckle shields, and it has for its general object to provide a buckle shield of a cheap and simple construction and one which may be readily applied to a piece of harness and which is adapted to prevent a fly net, cover or the horses hair from being caught in the buckle and which is also adapted to prevent a casual disconnection of the straps ,or parts connected by the buckle.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be fully understood from the following description and claims when taken in connection with the annexed drawings, in which- Figure 1, is a plan view of a piece of harness with my improved shield in position. Fig. 2, is a side elevation of the same. Fig. 3, is an inverted plan View, and: Fig. 4, is a perspective view of the shield removed.

Referring by letter to said drawings: A, indicates a piece of harness which may be'a check strap or the like, and B, indicates a drawing line or other part of a harness which is provided with a buckle as C, and a box loop D, to receive the end of the strap A, which is engaged by the buckle, as shown.

E, indicates my improved buckle shield, which is preferably formed from a single piece of wire, although it may be formed from other In forming this shield E, I take a piece of wire or other suitable material and bend the same so as to form the loop a, which is designed to engage the tongue 17, of the buckle G, and is consequently denominated the tongueloop. This tongue loop is designed to rest upon the inner side of the strap A, as shown in Fig. 3, and after the same has been formed, the wire is twisted as shown at c, and the branches are then carried laterally in opposite directions as shown at d, and are then bent at right angles to the plane of the loop a, and inwardly as shown at e, and

Serial No. 390,358. (No model.)

are then carried rearwardly or toward the buckle and are crossed as shown at f, so as to form the strap-embracing loop g, and the legs h. The legs h, are carried rearwardly from the crossing point f, and away from the straps to a point above the buckle O, and they are then bent or curved as shown at 2', and are carried toward the straps so as to enter the box loop D, their ends being preferably bent as shown at j, so as to facilitate their entrance into said box loop. Thus it will be seen that a shield E, such as shown in Fig. 4, is formed and this shield is placed in its operative po sition, as follows: The check strap or other harness piece A, is first passed through the loop g, and the said strap together with the tongue loop a, are then passed through the body of the buckle and the tongue 6, of the buckle is passed through said loop a, and an aperture in the strap. The free end of the strap A, is then introduced into the box loop D, of the strap B, after which the ends of the legs h, are also passed into the saidloop, when the shield will be firmly retained in position; the tendency of the ends of the said legs h, to spring away from the straps serving to increase the friction between the same and the box loop so as to prevent a casual disengagement of the legs from the loop.

It will be readily seen by reference to the drawings that a shield such as described will serve to hold the tongue 17, of thebuckle firmly against the bar thereof so as to prevent said tongue from being caught in a netting, the horses hair, or a cover; and it will also be seen that the shield will effectually prevent a casual disconnection of the straps A, B. Furthermore it will be seen that the shield will hold a cover, netting, or the like, away from the buckle so as to permit of a free movement of the connected straps within the cover or netting without danger of the buckle being caught in the same.

Although I have specifically described the construction and relative arrangement of the several parts of my improved shield in order to impart a full and clear understanding of the same, I do not desire to be understood as confining myself to such construction and arrange ment as I reserve the right to make such changes or modifications in practice as fairly fall within the scope of my invention.

Having described my invention, What I claim is 1. As an improved article of manufacture, a buckle shield formed from a single piece of Wire and comprising a loop a, adapted to engage the tongue of a buckle, the strap engaging loop g, formed by twisting the branches of the wire and bending them in a plane at right angles to the plane of the loop a, and crossing them, and the branches or legs h, formed by the end portions of the Wire and extending in the same general direction from the loop g, as the loop a, and adapted to rest on the opposite side of a strap or piece of harness with respect to said loop a substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. In a harness, the combination with a strap A, and a strap B, carrying a buckle adapted to engage the strap A, and a box loop adapted to receive the free portion of said strap A,; of the buckle shield comprising aloop a, adapted to engage the tongue of the buckle, a loop g, connected with loop a, and adapted to embrace the strap A, and branches or legs h, connected with the loop 9 and arranged on the opposite side of the piece of harness, with respect to the loop a, and extending in the same general direction as said loop a, so as to take into the box loop of the strap B, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

FREDERICK L. THOMPSON.

Witnesses:

KIMSEY T. RICHARDS, WALTER 'l. WATTLES. 

